Specialty Food and Wine News

Specialty Food and Wine News

South African International Business Linkages Program
The Corporate Council on Africa
1100 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

saibl Specialty Food and Wine e-Newsletter

Issue 6, June 30, 2010

In This Newsletter

:: Above the Fold >>>
:: Food Industry News >>>
:: Wine News >>>
:: Economic Climate >>>
:: Entrepreneur's Corner >>>

About Us

saibl is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program is implemented by the Corporate Council on Africa, ECIAfrica and the National Business Initiative under a strategic partnership agreement with the South African Department of Trade and Industry.

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fold ..::ABOVE THE FOLD::..

... from the saibl Business Forum

Tuesdays are for Stores

Looking to sell food products in U.S. supermarkets --- hopefully you will dedicate several days to going to supermarkets to see how your product would be displayed, look at competitive products and talk to store employees --- Tuesdays are the days you want to visit the store ... By Jon Seltzer

Do South African Suppliers Really Need to Export?

... Unfortunately, your fruit juice market is almost saturated, and lower cost dried fruit from Guinea is starting to appear in street stalls and gas stations. What do you do?

..::FOOD INDUSTRY NEWS::..

Grocery As Local Groceries Expand, so do Ready-to-Eat Options
Journal Gazette

Industry leaders aren't calling it a food fight, but competition between grocery stores and restaurants is heating up.

Hispanic Food and Beverage Market on the Rise in U.S.
QSR Magazine

The expanding appetite for Latino cuisine among non-Hispanic Americans, combined with the rapid increase in the U.S.'s Hispanic population ...

Grocery Outlet Eyes Expansion in Lean Times
San Francisco Chronicle

With consumers fervently pinching pennies, "deep-discount" retailer Grocery Outlet, a 138-store food market chain headquartered in Berkeley, is drawing flocks of new customers seeking deals like giant 99-cent bags of tortilla chips, half-price Hamburger Helper and $4 family-size frozen pizzas.

Whole Foods Cracks Down On Greenwashers
Marketing Daily

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), an environmental watchdog group, says Whole Foods Market is taking action against greenwashing in its cosmetics aisle.

Barcode Barcodes Now Hold More Information
TribLive

They hold much more information than their predecessors - and that's creating new functions for codes in a variety of industries, and helping consumers to become better informed, shop more efficiently and save money.

Panel Suggests Ways to Improve Nutrition
The Wall Street Journal

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, composed of 13 nutrition experts, is charged with coming up with recommendations that will figure in the government's planned update of the iconic food pyramid.

Fresh Madison Market Launches Online Printable Coupons
Progressive Grocer

Fresh Madison Market has unveiled an innovative online coupon gallery on its new Web site, through a partnership with the Nash Finch Co. and Coupons.com, Inc.

Whole Foods Establishes First Farm-to-Store Garden
Richmond Times - Dispatch

A Whole Foods in Short Pump, Va., is planting a community garden that will supply produce to its local store. The field-to-store garden is a first for the chain, and will initially provide ingredients for prepared foods and the salad bar.

Cola Plain Old Soda Gets a New Pop in a Down Economy
Time

Health drinks made big inroads into the beverage market in recent years, but the crippling economic recession has brought that growth to a screeching halt as consumers have returned to their once true - and cheap - love, soda pop.

Should Restaurants Make Health Inspection Grades Visible?
USAToday

Posted outside restaurants' windows are menus, Zagat ratings and clippings of local newspaper reviews. What's missing, says D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, is information about the restaurants' sanitary conditions.

New Agtivist Q&A with John Scharffenberger: First Wine, then Chocolate, and Now ... Tofu?
Grist

They're starting urban farms, seed-saving ventures, and underground food-swapping markets. They're fighting for better food in schools and fewer feedlots.

For a Healthier Bronx, a Farm of Their Own
The New York Times

Mr. Derryck, who lives in Harlem, is Schoharie County's newest farmer. His spread is Corbin Hills Road Farm, 92 acres with a pretty farmhouse and a silo that needs a roof. It's the cornerstone of a project linking the upstate rural and downstate urban through beets and berries ...

Burger The Changes Facing Fast Food
The Economist

More than menus need to be revamped if fast-food firms want to keep growing.

A Liberian Tour With Fork (and Fingers)
The New York Times

I knew my plan to spend my recent trip home eating my way around Monrovia was off to a good start when my sister showed up at the airport to greet me accompanied by a pot of bitterleaf over doughy fufu.

Organic Group Lauds Whole Foods' New Organic Personal Care Standard
Progressive Grocer

... the Austin, Texas-based grocer’s revised standard should help stem "widespread organic labeling fraud in personal care".

So!Go! Products Features in Epicure Magazine
Epicure

So!Go!, a South African producer of juice products, has recently been featured in Epicure, a new food and lifestyle magazine in Singapore.

Visit the So!Go! Website >>>

..::WINE NEWS::..

Wines 2009-2010 State of the Wine Industry Forecasts and Recommendations
Silicon Valley Bank: Wine Division

Find expert predictions for the Wine Industry in 2009 - 2010.

Wine: Tooting the Horn for South Africa
The Washington Post

While watching the World Cup, why not kick back and hoist a cupful of wine from the host country? South Africa makes some delicious wines, especially whites, and can make a case for producing some of the world's best chenin blancs.

Drinkers Enjoy Tough Times for Wine Industry
Channel 3 News

Tough times in the wine industry mean drinkers will continue to enjoy a top drop at lower prices. After two years of recession and over-supply, the 2010 grape harvest has fallen, but there is still too much bulk wine to be soaked up before prices can rise.

EU Says no to Organic Wine
Decanter.com

The European Union has rejected a proposal to create an organic wine category, despite regulation being 'urgently needed'.

Proposed Law Could Cause Changes in Alcohol Shipping
WSLS 10

Now, about five years after a Supreme Court ruling removed some barriers to shipping wine directly to consumers, Johnson and other winery owners worry a bill in Congress could erode some of the progress they have made.

Stellar Wines New Packaging Materials As Diverse As Wine Inside
Palate Press

Wine labels used to be as austere as fine Chablis, and bottles as heavy as one of Babe Ruth's bats. The aura was highly classical, with labels displaying coats of arms, Renaissance-style lettering, and lines as fine as those inscribed by monks wearing dark robes and wielding goose-quill pens.

Japan’s $4 Wine, Courtesy of Wal-Mart
The Wall Street Journal

Some of you may be familiar with "Two Buck Chuck," the $1.99 bottles of wine available at U.S. supermarket Trader Joe's. Starting today, Japan is set to get its own version: ¥380 ($4.18) bottles of plonk from, yep, you guessed it: Wal-Mart Japan.

..::ECONOMIC CLIMATE::..

Fresh Food: Produce: Swinging Springtime Sales
Progressive Grocer

While retail produce executives remain resolute on perfecting pricing strategies to enhance sales and convey excitement, a number of favorable trends that are hitting their stride should make the spring selling season fertile for sowing rewarding sales opportunities in a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable categories ... while the vast majority of grocers realize that there won't be a wholesale return to previous shopping patterns and behaviors in the immediate future, some of the nation's leading operators are adopting new strategies and programs to help recession-inspired shoppers make more mindful choices, beginning with plenty of fresh produce.

Consumer Price Drop Squeezes Profits
The Wall Street Journal

In what is good news for shoppers but bad news for many companies, U.S. consumer prices fell 0.2% last month from April, even as commodity prices from metal to fuel to food remain higher than they were a year ago ... Such a scenario should buoy weary consumers especially at a time of high unemployment and worries about the turmoil in Europe. But it puts many companies in a bind as they digest rising wholesale prices, which push up their production and operating costs. Many companies say they are reluctant to pass price increases to consumers who are still jittery from the recession.

..::ENTREPRENEURS’ CORNER::..

The Power of Mutual Mentorship
Inc. Magazine
Agatha Kessler, CEO of Fentress Architects, talks about how her firm trains its employees to mentor one another. Read More >>>

Where's The Cupcake Truck Today? Check Facebook
National Public Radio
The cupcake craze is merging with the social media phenomenon, and the result is: cupcake trucks. Most major cities have these vendors, who rely on Facebook and Twitter to connect with customers ... Read More >>>

Contests: They're Not Just for B-School Anymore
The Wall Street Journal
Entrepreneurs who are looking for additional exposure should consider entering contests, Dale Buss writes. There are business contests based on age, gender, product type and more, and small wins in local contests can lead to bigger events with more prize money and PR value. Read More >>>

Four Tips From a Successful Angel-Stalker
NY Times Blog - You're the Boss
PetsMD has received two rounds of angel funding, and co-founder Tina Cannon says she is preparing to go back for a third. Why can she raise funds with such apparent ease while other entrepreneurs struggle? Read More >>>

Work Smart: How To Avoid "The Busy Trap"
Fast Company
So instead of working our way through a prioritized task list in order, most of us get into a bad pattern: We just constantly react to and do whatever's in our face at the moment. Read More >>>

Home is Where the Blog is
TechCrunch
Airbnb.com is a marketplace that helps match thrifty travelers with homeowners willing to rent a room for a few nights. Seed funding of $20,000 allowed co-founder Brian Chesky to hire staff, but that left little room in his apartment, which doubled as the company office. Read More >>>

Editor
Daniel Wolf
South African International Business Linkages Program
The Corporate Council on Africa
1100 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 2003

Tel: (202) 263-3521
Fax: (202) 835-1117
dwolf@Africacncl.org
www.africacncl.org
www.saibl.co.za